Pre-Columbian estucado pottery from El Salvador: A multi-technique investigation

Pottery is one of the main productions of the pre-Columbian cultures in the Mesoamerican area. Among the others, the estucado pottery represents a very particular type of ceramic, widespread in Maya territory but still never investigated systematically. The peculiarity of this ceramic lies in the unusual application of the color decoration and in the excellent conservation conditions. Seventeen ceramic fragments from El Salvador have been analysed by Raman spectroscopy, SEM/EDS and XRPD, both as fragments and in cross-sections, in order to investigate the manufacturing technique and to understand the good and unexpected conservation state. In both cases, the presence and the chemical nature of a thin white layer (engobe) between the ceramic bulk and the colored decorations seems to be determinant

High-temperature study of basic ferric sulfate, FeOHSO 4

AbstractWe report in this paper a new crystal-chemical study of synthetic basic ferric sulfate FeOHSO4. The structure solution performed by the Endeavour program, from new X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) data, indicated that the correct space group of the monoclinic polytype of FeOHSO4 is C2/c. Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) patterns are also consistent with this structure solution. The arrangement of Fe and S atoms, based on linear chains of Fe3+ octahedra cross-linked by SO4 tetrahedra, corresponds to that of the order/disorder (OD) family. The positions of the hydrogen atoms were located based on DFT calculations. IR and Raman spectra are presented and discussed according to this new structure model. The decomposition of FeOHSO4 during heating was further investigated by means of variable temperature XRPD, thermogravimetry, and differential thermal analysis as well as IR and Raman spectroscopies

Kidney tubular function and serum phosphate levels in HIV-1-infected patients treated with tenofovir: preliminary results

Purpose of the study There is concern that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and the use of highly active antiretro- viral therapy lead to cumulative toxicity. Tenofovir (TDF) is the first choice for most subjects. Even if it has a safe metabolic profile, much attention has been fixed on kidney tubular function and regulation of phosphate metabolism. We performed this study to evaluate the role of a TDF based regimen has on renal tubular over time. Methods Prospective, cross-sectional, single centre study was car- ried out. 121 HIV-1-infected patients were consecutively enrolled in six groups based on duration of TDF exposi- tion: G0, from 6 to 12 months; G1 from 13 to 24 months; G2 from 25 to 36 months; G3 from 37 to 48 months; G4 more than 48 months and G5 under HAART but never exposed to TDF. Glomerular func- tion was assessed using creatinine clearance (CrCL) cal- culated by MDRD. Tubular function was assessed using fractional excretion ratio of phosphate and normalized renal threshold phosphate concentration. Demographic, CD4, serum phosphate levels, viral load were collected. Summary of results A total of 121 consecutive HIV-1-infected patients were analyzed: 15 in G0, 11 in G1, 14 in G2, 32 in G3, 35 in G4 and 14 in G5. Mean of TDF exposure was 10.26, 21.4, 36.2, 47.3 and 67.4 months in G0, G1, G2, G3 and G4 respectively. There was no statistically significant dif- ference of mean values of FEP(11.2, 10.3, 8.4, 9.8, 11.1 and 10% in G0, G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5 respectively), TmPO4/GFR (3.5, 3.5, 3.6, 3.6, 3.4 and 3.4 mg/dl in G0, G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5 respectively ), CrCL (102.2, 94.3, 92.9, 106.5, 103.1 and 101.6 ml/min/1.73m2 in G0, G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5 respectively) and serum phos- phate levels (3.4, 3.3, 3.1, 3.5, 3.3 and 3.4 in G0, G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5 respectively) between groups. Moreover, we did not find correlation of FEP (r:0.04, p:0.6) and TmPO4/GFR (r:0.05, p:0.5) with duration of TDF therapy. Conclusions Treatment with TDF is not associated with altered kid- ney tubular function and serum phosphate levels over time

Altered phosphate metabolism in HIV-1-infected patients: another feature of metabolic syndrome?

Purpose of the study Metabolic syndrome represent a cluster of cardiovascu- lar risk factors that has become a serious problem for HIV-1-infected patients. It was proposed that distur- bances in phosphate metabolism may represent a key feature of metabolic syndrome. Because phosphate is involved directly in carbohydrate metabolism, hypopho- sphatemia can results in impaired utilization of glucose, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. Thus, we undertook the present study to investigate the relation- ship between phosphate levels and the presence of the characteristics of metabolic syndrome, as well as the mechanism that may be responsible for reduced phos- phate levels in patients with this syndrome. Methods 130 HIV-1-infected patients were consecutively enrolled in a prospective, cross-sectional, single centre study. All patients were receiving HAART for more than six months. We selected two groups: HIV+ patients with metabolic syndrome (group A, n=86) and HIV+ patients without metabolic syndrome (group B, n=44). The diag- nosis of metabolic syndrome was based on Adult Treat- ment Panel III guidelines. Demographic characteristics, metabolic variables, duration of Tenofovir therapy, dura- tion of HAART, CD4 and viral load were collected. Kid- ney tubular function was examined using tubular resorption of phosphate and normalized renal threshold phosphate concentration. Summary of results Patients with metabolic syndrome showed significantly lower phosphate (3.13 mg/dl vs 3.55 mg/dl, p<0.01) and higher insulin (13.2 mg/dl vs 6.9 mg/dl, p<0.01) levels compared with controls. There was a linear significant decrease in phosphate values as the number of compo- nents of metabolic syndrome increased (p<0.001). Multi- ple regression analysis including all 5 components of metabolic syndrome and months of TDF treatment showed that insulin level was the most discriminant of serum phosphate (r= -0.22, p<0.01). Figure 1 Conclusions Our preliminary data demonstrated that HIV-1-infected patients with metabolic syndrome showed significantly lower phosphate levels compared with HIV-1-infected patients without metabolic syndrome regardless of teno- fovir based therapy. The clinical significance of these disturbances, as well as their importance as target for preventive or therapeutic interventions, remains to be established

Rapid Appraisal of the 2011 Data Collection of Social Protection Programs (Ppls 2011)

Research team smeru researchers hastuti, syaikhu usman, bambang sulaksono, r. justin sodo, asri yusrina, rahmitha, gracia hadiwidjaja, prio sambodho field researchers: basyri nasution, muhammad imam zamroni, asep kurniawan, muhammad badar translators: stephen girschik, mukti mulyana, budhi adrianto abstract to support the implementation of numerous social protection programs and the development of a unified database for social protection programs, statistics Indonesia (bps), in coordination with the national team for accelerating poverty reduction (tnp2k) and world bank, conducted the 2011 data collection for social protection programs (ppls 2011). ppls 2011 was implemented in order to build a unified database system containing information on all the 40% poorest households in Indonesia which will be used for the purpose of targeting social protection programs to eligible beneficiaries. to achieve this goal, around 45%-50% of low to lower middle socioeconomic households have been enumerated as part of the ppls 2011 implementation. in order to assess the quality of ppls 2011, the smeru research institute carried out a rapid appraisal of its implementation in four provinces covering eight kabupaten/kota, and sixteen villages/kelurahan. this appraisal was formulated based on interviews with bps staffs in kabupaten/kota and kecamatan (ksk), regional government officials, field enumerators (pcl), field supervisors (pml) and 253 households. in this qualitative study, smeru also observed training, data collection, data verification and data entry activities. in this appraisal, smeru finds that ppls 2011 has a number of improvements compared to previous data collections used to determine social protection program beneficiaries, namely the 2005 socioeconomic census (pse 2005) and the 2008 data collection for social protection programs (ppls 2008). some of these improvements are: a far greater coverage of households, clearer standard operating procedures (sop), the use of pre-listed lists of households as starting points based on technical analysis of census data, the neutral association of ppls 2011 to any programs, and the more detailed household information.meanwhile general criticisms of ppls 2011 are: the survey was perceived as being too centralized and/or insufficiently able to accommodate local socioeconomic characteristics, socialization to the community was limited, the criteria of low to lower middle socioeconomic households were not clear, and there were indications of possible under-coverage of households in some areas. this study offers several important recommendations that may be useful for future rounds of data collection for social protection programs. first, a fine, precise and firm explanation on the purpose of ppls should be given to all stakeholders, including the general population. second, in order to get high quality partners, enumerators must be recruited through an open and objective recruitment process. third, more precise and clearer definitions of what constitutes a low to lower middle socioeconomic household should be defined well in advance. fourth, training and field supervision activities should be improved. keywords: poverty, unified database, middle to low socioeconomic household, social protection program

Morpho-Mineralogical and Bio-Geochemical Description of Cave Manganese Stromatolite-Like Patinas (Grotta del Cervo, Central Italy) and Hints on Their Paleohydrological-Driven Genesis

Caves are dark subsurface environments with relatively constant temperatures that allow studying bio-mineralization processes and paleoenvironmental or climate changes in optimal conditions. In the extreme and oligotrophic cave environment, manganese patinas having stromatolite-like features are uncommon. Here we provide the first detailed mineralogical, geochemical, and microbiological investigation of fine-grained and poorly crystalline MnFe stromatolite-like wall patinas formed in a deep-cave environment in Italy. These mineralizations, about 3&nbsp;mm thick, consist of an alternation of Mn-layers and Fe-lenses. We show that the microbial communities' composition is dominated by Mn-oxidizing bacteria, such as Bacillus, Flavobacterium, and Pseudomonas. Our multidisciplinary investigation, integrating data from different analytical techniques (i.e., optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, μXRF, XRPD, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, and DNA sequencing), revealed peculiar chemical, mineralogical, and biological features: 1) A cyclical oscillation of Mn and Fe along the growth of the patinas. We propose that this oscillation represents the shift between oxic and suboxic conditions related to different phases occurring during paleo-flood events; 2) A typical spatial distribution of mineralogy and oxidation state of Mn, bacterial imprints, detrital content, and stromatolite-like morphologies along the Mn-layers. We propose that this distribution is controlled by the local hydraulic regime of the paleo-floods, which, in turn, is directly related to the morphology of the wall surface. Under less turbulent conditions, the combination of clay mineral catalysis and biological oxidation produced vernadite, a poor-crystalline phyllomanganate with a low average oxidation state of Mn, and branched columnar stromatolite-like morphologies. On the other hand, under more turbulent conditions, the sedimentation of clay minerals and microbial communities' development are both inhibited. In this local environment, a lower oxidation rate of Mn2+ favored the formation of todorokite and/or ranciéite, two compounds with a high average oxidation state of Mn, and flat-laminated or columnar stromatolite-like morphologies

Thyroid cancer diagnosis by Raman spectroscopy

Over the last 50 years, the incidence of human thyroid cancer disease has seen a significative increment. This comes along with an even higher increment of surgery, since, according to the international guidelines, patients are sometimes addressed to surgery also when the fine needle aspiration gives undetermined cytological diagnosis. As a matter of fact, only 30% of the thyroid glands removed for diagnostic purpose have a post surgical histological report of malignancy: this implies that about 70% of the patients have suffered an unnecessary thyroid removal. Here we show that Raman spectroscopy investigation of thyroid tissues provides reliable cancer diagnosis. Healthy tissues are consistently distinguished from cancerous ones with an accuracy of ∼ 90%, and the three cancer typology with highest incidence are clearly identified. More importantly, Raman investigation has evidenced alterations suggesting an early stage of transition of adenoma tissues into cancerous ones. These results suggest that Raman spectroscopy may overcome the limits of current diagnostic tools